The Cambridge Baby Study V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating Sex Differences in Neonatal Social Perception via Gaze-Tracking: A Replication and Extension Study
IRAS ID
331938
Contact name
Simon Baron-Cohen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Cambridge & Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Research on sex differences in the brain and behaviour of males and females is a topic of considerable scientific interest. On average, it has been observed that females tend to excel in understanding and responding to others' emotions (i.e., “empathising”), whereas males tend to excel in analysing and constructing systems (i.e., “systemising”) (Greenberg et al., 2018; Baron-Cohen, 2003). A central question has revolved around whether these sex differences primarily stem from environmental influences or partially hold an innate or biological basis (see Baron-Cohen, 2003; Fine, 2011). The primary objective of the present study is to investigate the matter in a neonatal sample – a stage where post-natal environmental experience is limited. Newborns, recruited from a postnatal ward within their first few days of life, will be presented with a human face and a non-social systematic object across two experiments. Their eye gaze will be monitored for looking time and number of fixations towards each stimulus, providing a measure of attentional preferences. This research conceptually replicates and expands upon a previous seminal study in the area (Connellan et al., 2000) which reported significant sex differences (i.e., boys looked longer at the object and girls looked longer at the face). Secondary aims are to investigate whether (a) neonatal gaze preferences can predict characteristics in infanthood (such as autistic traits) (b) neonatal gaze preferences are associated with parental characteristics (e.g., autistic traits, empathising/systemising), and (c) whether typical sex differences might also play a role in the emergence of autistic traits, which are generally higher in males than females (Baron-Cohen, 2001). These aims address the broader questions of how sex differences evolve across development, whether characteristics such as empathising and systemising might hold a heritable basis, and whether typical sex differences might play a role in the emergence of sex-biased conditions, such as autism.
REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0114
Date of REC Opinion
12 Apr 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion